SPORTS> Off the Pitch
S.Korea helps N.Korea see World Cup TV broadcasts
(AP)
Updated: 2006-05-30 16:18

North Korea has asked South Korea to relay World Cup TV broadcasts to the North so that its people can watch the soccer tournament, the South's Unification Ministry said Tuesday.

The ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, didn't give further details.

South Korea provided assistance to North Korea in three international sports events in recent years, including the 2004 Athens Olympics, said the ministry.

The Korean Broadcasting Commission said it couldn't confirm the North's request.

"No decision has been made yet," said Jung Joon-wook, an official at the commission.

North Korea stunned the world by reaching the quarterfinals in England in 1966 but last year it failed to qualify for the 2006 World Cup scheduled next month in Germany.

North Koreans are officially banned from listening to outside news, and radios are rigged so that only state programs can be heard. North Korean defectors say that punishment for listening to clandestine broadcasts is severe.

The divided Koreas are committed to fielding a combined team for the 2006 Asian Games and agreed in principle to form a unified team for 2008 Beijing Olympics, but details of the plans have yet to be worked out.

The Koreas remain technically at war since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a cease-fire, not a peace treaty. But their relations warmed significantly following a breakthrough 2000 summit.